Clay Bodies:

Definition: Clay body (noun) refers to the actual clay mixture that is used in forming objects. It might only have one specific type of clay in it, but it is more likely to consist of a mixture of different types of clay. Other additives may also be introduced into the mixture. Each specific ingredient used is included to give the clay particular attributes. For example, ingredients may be added to aid plasticity, to lower or raise the clay body's firing temperature, or change its fired coloration. Examples: Clay bodies come in a wide spectrum of colors, from white, to red, to black, and many colors in between.

Earthenware: Ceramic ware made of porous clay fired at low heat Stoneware: Ceramic ware that is fired in high heat and vitrified and nonporous Porcelain: Ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic

Clay properties: Plasticity: this is a state of being plastic, which gives clay the ability to be
molded, shaped and altered

Shrinkage: process or result of becoming less or smaller Fineness of grain: Color after firing: Hardness: the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily
scratched; measured on Mohs scale

Forming Methods explored: Pinch: a method of shaping clay by inserting the thumb of one hand into the clay
and lightly pinching with the thumb and fingers while slowly rotating the ball in the palm of the other hand.

Coil: This is the technique of building ceramic forms by rolling out coils, or
ropes, of clay and joining them together with the fingers or a tool

Slab: Clay slabs are cut to shape and joined together using scoring and wet clay
called slip. Slabs can be draped over or into forms, rolled around cylinders or builtup into geometric forms.

Stages of Clay: Wet: Leather hard: Refers to clay that is dry enough but still damp enough to be
joined to other pieces or carved without distortion. Clay at this state resembles leather. Hard to bend and soft enough to be carved.

Green ware: Unfired pottery that is bone-dry, a state in which clay forms are the
most fragile

Bone dry: Refers to clay which is ready to be fired. All the moisture is gone
from the clay. Clay is VERY FRAGILE at this stage

Bisque, bisque ware or bisque fired: Unglazed clay, fired once at a low
temperature ; The process of firing unglazed clay to a low temperature to harden the clay and drive the physical water from it.

Glaze fired/maturity: Typically the second firing of a piece pottery which has
been coated with glass forming materials.

Terminology of ceramic processes:

Abstraction: a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance / an

abstract painting

Body: the basic material from which any ceramic piece is made. Fundamentally
this is clay, usually natural materials and other ceramic materials, combined for specific properties for forming and firing

Burnishing: by rubbing leather hard clay with a hard object like a smooth pebble
or back of a spoon a polished appearance would occur

Celadon: an overall term used typically for oriental stonewares, and porcelains
with green glazes. The color is acquired by the use of small amounts of iron in the glaze

Ceramic: The art of making things of clay. Clay is an ancient tradition Chuck: a holding device consisting of adjustable jaws that center a workpiece in
a lathe or center a tool in a drill

Combined techniques: Composite pots: Crazing: Crazing is the fine cracks that occur on the glaze. Crawling: the surface effect when a glaze pulls apart from a continuous surface
into many nearby sections with voids in between - a bit like spots on a leopard. This is often, but now always, done intentionally to give the surface increased texture and interest

Dry footing: Engobe: a surface coating usually used for decoration, but not usually considered
a glaze. It is made from clay and may contain glaze or glaze components. Depending upon how the piece is fired, even though it is not a glaze, it may become glaze like or glasslike, even more so than the clay body it covers

Extruder: form or shape by forcing through an opening

Faience: this term describes colorfully decorated earthenware or glazes. The

origin of this term is from Faenza in northern Italy. Today the style that is considered faience is the covering of surfaces with matt and shiny glazes that are often blended together

Flux: flux means flow, and thus fluxes are materials that help glazes flow. They
do this by lowering the temperatures at which other minerals would naturally melt

Glaze: A glassy coating that has been melted onto a ceramic surface. It is used to
decorate the piece and to seal the clay surfaces

Grog: this is ground, already fired body that is added to clays. It can provide
texture to a piece. It has many advantages in its usage. One being that since it has already been fired; it helps to cut down on the overall shrinkage

Kiln: Enclosed containers of various sizes- built of refractor brick and heated by
electricity, gas, oil, or wood to temperatures from 1500 F. to 2340 F. in which ceramic ware is fired. Also called the oven for firing the clay

Luting: a substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it

impervious to gas or liquid

Majolica or Maiolica : this is a general term used for Earthenware that has
been glazed with an opaque tin glaze and painted over with oxides

Mold : the distinctive form in which a thing is made / container into which liquid
is poured to create a given shape when it hardens

Opacifier : this is a substance that is typically made of a metal oxide, commonly

tin oxide. When added to a clear glaze will turn the glaze opaque

Pottery: Pottery was one of the first art forms explored by mankind. There are
many extinct cultures throughout the world who did not leave behind any written record of their existence. For some of these civilizations the only evidence of their daily lives comes in the form of pottery. Some pots were for daily use and some were for ceremonial purposes. Some cultures buried their pots with their dead, and

some had huge garbage dumps where broken pots ended up. Pottery and other forms of ceramics have left behind an important archeological record

Plastic: generic name for certain synthetic or semisynthetic materials that can
be molded or extruded into objects or films or filaments or used for making

Porosity: the property of being porous; being able to absorb fluids Potters wheel: Refractory: an adjective describing any material that melts at a very high
temperature

Sgraffito: this is a design that can be made by scraping or scratching through a

layer of slip that has been applied to reach the contrasting color of the clay body beneath

Slab Roller: Slip: A liquid form of clay used as a glue or as decoration Slurry: Thick slip Sprigging: this is a technique used by Wedgwood, where relief-molded
decorations are applied to a leather hard pot

Stains: a soiled or discolored appearance Stylization: the act of stylizing; causing to conform to a particular style Template: a model or standard for making comparisons Terra cotta: Commonly used for ceramic sculpture, it is a brownish-orange
earthenware clay

Terra sigillata: Throwing: Forming clay on a potters wheel Trailing: the pursuit by following tracks or marks they left behind

Vitrification: the temperature that occurs during this process varies with each
different clay. During firing, vitrification is simply the fusion of a clay body. This is necessary so that the clay body will reach the exact point of hardness at the same temperature that the glaze will melt to form the individual shiny coating over the ware. After vitrification, the clay can no longer be recycled, though it may be used as grog

Wedging: putting the clay into a workable, smooth state, by kneading or by

repeatedly cutting and slamming together lumps of moist clay